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Saturday, January 28, 2017

I seem to be on a celestial bent. I have absolutely no idea why. It's just one of those things where I choose colors and let the paint brush go where it will. LOL! I think I have just developed my very first series, quite accidentally. "Sky Rockets in Flight" is the fifth in an accidental series of abstract paintings. The others are "Kootenai Sunset", "Cosmic Sunrise", "Spirit Sky" and "The Source".

Sky Rockets in Flight

The name Sky Rockets in Flight just popped into my head along with the tune to Sky Rockets in Flight Afternoon Delight. My fellow seniors may recall the 1976 Starland Vocal Band song by that title.

Here are the five pieces in the series. Oh yippee I have a series!

Celestial Series

I have no idea if there will be others in this series. It will just depend on how the celestial winds blow.

If you've never tired your hand at painting you really should. You most likely will surprise yourself like I did. It's just a colossal joy to watching your creation being born. And, an even more colossal joy to look at it on the wall whilst thinking, "I made that". And, painting is so much easier than photography.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

In my painting Cosmic Sunrise it seems I was focused on looking outward. With The Source it looks to me like things are flowing inward. I can't say I had any conscious direction in mind.

Often I paint with no plan. I just choose colors that for some reason I am drawn to in that moment and away I go. While painting without a plan is liberating and it's fun to watch what emerges it does have it's drawbacks.

The Source

I can now see things I wish I had done differently and probably would have had I put any forethought into what I was doing. I had no idea I was going to paint something that felt like I should call it The Source. Had I known I probably would have painted the water with vertical lines, as opposed to horizontal, so that the water had a more powerful feeling of flowing toward the observer.

But, here's the thing, my painting is 100% self-indulgent. I do it for no other reason than to please myself. I love slapping on paint with reckless abandon even if it does mean I miss things. I just love the feeling. I love the freedom. It's a way to leave the planet without a rocket ship. And, lucky for me, the colors never disappoint. I am a self-proclaimed color junkie. No matter what else, I am always pleased with my colors.

I've yet to go back and try painting a painting again. I seem to be always wanting to express something new. But, in this case I very well may come back to it and change a few things. Meanwhile, I can still feel that wonderful water flowing right into my chest.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

This is unusual. Lately I seem to have some kind of "thing" for the sky. My last three paintings, including this one, have had to do with the sky. "Kootenai Sunset" and "Cosmic Sunrise" being the other two. I have no clue as to why.

What I enjoy most about these paintings is that all three were totally spontaneous. When I started painting I had no destination in mind. I just picked a color. Slapped it on the canvas and built the painting from there.

In the case of "Spirit Sky" my lofty aspiration was to use up remnant paint I keep in tiny paint pots. I hate to waste anything so I scrap up every bit of unused paint and put it in little pots. Both my parents were young adults during the Great Depression. It made quite an impression upon them. I was raised on axioms like "A penny saved is a penny earned" and "A fool and his money are soon parted". I am not complaining. I learned a lot about wealth building which today allows me to paint from the heart. That is a tremendous freedom and joy. Experiencing joy is one of my main drivers. I admit, however, my joy is further enhanced when someone tells me they like what I have created. I am not without ego. :)

When I put paint in the pots I put it in arbitrarily thereby randomly mixing colors. I would have no idea how to recreate some of these colors. But, then again, who cares? I surely don't. It's all part of the play. Painting really taps into my inner child.

Spirit Sky

So, there it is another totally unbridled and reckless painting and I love it. I am addicted to two things in this life endorphins and color. I get my endorphins rushes from walking and my color highs from painting. Gads, I'm a junkie!

Monday, January 16, 2017

In no way shape or form did I have this painting in mind when I started. For better or worse it just put itself down on the canvas. I didn't have all that much to do with it other than provide the avenue.

What I ended up with I would judge to be a colorful, abstract painting of a sunrise on some distant planet, a cosmic sunrise.

Cosmic Sunrise

As I sit here looking at it on the wall I just want to climb into it
and take that road over the horizon. What's over there? What new day
dawning would I find? My boots are made for walking and I want to explore this infinite place.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

This painting is of the view out my front window. The mountains in the distance are in the Kootenai National Forest. I guess I was missing the warmer weather. It's been a brutal winter. So cold that when we hit the twenties it feels like a tropical heat wave.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Well, I thought I should start the New Year of with a completed painting.

Once again I just started out with not much in mind but snow-capped mountains and my vision of Montana. I trip myself by not having a plan in mind when I start but what can I say ... I do it my way and sometimes have to pay a price. But, lots of times it just seems to come together.

From my window I can see the Big Mountain ski runs in Whitefish and I think that may have been what got this painting rolling.

Big Mountain - Whitefish

But then, of course, my imagination started wandering and the next thing I knew there was a river running through it. So, my basic concept kind of turned out to be blocked out like this.

Painting in Progress

And, from there I just messed around until I came up with another primitive impression of a Montana landscape. And, as usual, I really like it. It just captures my childlike, and joyful love for Montana.

Rocky Mountain High

I'm sure no art critic would find merit in what I paint. But, frankly I could care less. A painting like this gives me nothing but joy and an appreciation for the place I am blessed to live. It quite simply makes me happy.

My New Year's wish for everyone is that you find that which gives you joy and do it no matter what anyone else thinks!